Phantom with Greece

Last revised March 30, 2004

The Elliniki Polemiki Aeroporia (Hellenic Air Force) of Greece was an
important Phantom user, having been supplied with F-4Es and RF-4Es
newly manufactured by McDonnell, as well as by used Phantoms
transferred to it from the USAF and the German Luftwaffe. In total,
121 Phantoms have been delivered to the EPA.

An initial contract, codenamed Peace Icarus was placed in 1971 for
36 F-4Es. These were delivered to Greece from March of 1974 onwards. However, they did
not enter service in time to fight in the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974.
Two attrition replacements were delivered in June of 1976. Follow-on
contracts were issued for 18 F-4Es and 8 RF-4Es. The RF-4Es were
delivered to Greece between June 1978 and April of 1979, whereas the
follow-on F-4Es were delivered between May and December of 1978.

The F-4Es entered service in April of 1974 with 339 "Ajax" Mira (Squadron)
based at Andravida, this unit converting from the F-84F Thunderstreak.
This unit is tasked with the all-weather interception role, and is
also the OCU for the Phantom. 338 "Ares" Mira (also based at
Andravida) began to convert in 1975. 338 Mira
is assigned the ground attack role.

In 1978, the follow-on order of F-4Es and RF-4Es were issued
to 337 "Fantasma" Mira (squadron)/110 Pterix
(wing) based at Larissa. The 337 Mira had previously flown Northrop F-5As as part
of 111 Wing at Nea Ankhialos, and moved to Larissa to receive F-4Es.
The RF-4Es were issued to 348 "Matia" Mira/110 Pterix based
at Larissa, replacing the
RF-84F in the reconnaissance role. However, the unit retained its RF-84Fs
in the training role until 1990. In
1993, 29 ex-Luftwaffe RF-4Es were added to the strength of 348
Mira.

A proposal for the US to supply 40 surplus F-4Es to Greece was
revealed in 1987. This order was delayed because of the political situation in Greece, but with
the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and Operation Desert Storm>/i>, the situation changed and the order
was approved. The proposal was later amended to involve 50 F-4Es
and 19 F-4G Wild Weasels. In exchange, the Greek government agreed in
July 1990 to an eight-year extension of the US bases agreement. The
first stage of the agreement resulted in the promise of 28 F-4Es to
Greece, drawn from the Indiana Air National Guard's 113th TFS and 163rd TFS. These
planes were delivered to Greece in late 1991, entering
service with 338 Mira.

Some of the EPA's older F-4Es have been modified in a manner similar to that
of the USAF's F-4G Wild Weasel aircraft. Texas Instruments AGM-88A HARM
missiles have also been supplied for these aircraft.

A series of upgrades are being carried out of EPA's F-4 fleet. In 1993, the EPA
issued a request for proposals for upgrading and replacement of the original APQ-120
fire-control radar to make the EPA Phantom AMRAAM-capable. DASA, Rockwell, and IAI all
submitted bids. However, IAI had to be ruled out on political considerations
because it was also
involved in upgrading Turkey's Phantom fleet. DASA was awarded the contract
in August 1997 under a contract known as Peace Icarus 2000. The DASA
proposal was quite similar to the Luftwaffe F-4F ICE upgrade with APG-65 radar, plus
an additional GEC-Marconi HUD and GPS/INS. The first upgraded aircraft flew for the
first time on April 28, 1999 at DASA's Manching facility. The remaining 37
aircraft are being upgraded by Hellenic Aerospace Industry at Tanagra from DASA-supplied
kits. The upgraded EPA Phantom will be provided with Rafael LITENING sensor pods for
targeting and navigation of close-support weapons such as precision-guided bombs
and Raytheon AGM-65 Maverick missiles.

The Hellenic AF operates 34 upgraded F-4E Peace
Icarus 2000 (338 and 339 Squadrons) and 12 RF-4E (348 Squadron) as of September 2013.
The Phantom remains an important part of Hellenic Air Force strength,
and will continue to serve throughout the decade and into the next
century. The following EPA units are currently equipped with the Phantom:

The USAF serial numbers of the planes known to have been delivered to
Greece are listed in the following table. This listing includes new
builds delivered to Greece under Foreign Military Sales and given USAF
serial numbers for administrative purposes, as well as those used
Phantoms turned over to Greece from the USAF and from the Luftwaffe.